Brake mechanism for cars



J. E. LOUGHRIDGE; BRAKE MECHANISM FOR CARS.

(No Model.)

No. 484,598. Patented Oct. 18, 1892.

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

JACOB E. LOUGHRIDGE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THELOUGHRIDGE BRAKE AND OAR COMPANY, OF CAMDEN, NEW

JERSEY.

BRAKE MECHANISM FOR CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 484,598, dated October18, I892.

Application filed May 21, 1891. Renewed August 13, 1892. Serial No. 42 1(N modem To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JACOB E. LOUGHRIDGE, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certainImprovements in Braking Mechanism for Railroad-Cars, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention consists, mainly, in so constructing what may be termed thecompensating element of braking mechanism for railroad-cars that saidcompensating element, while substantially retaining its variouspositions of advancement, cannot, by reason of any of its compensatingor adjusting movements, lock the brake-shoes in contact with the wheels,

The invention also consistsin a special combination of parts inbrake-gearing with the view of rendering the compensation either antothe short arm of the lever D, known as the dead lever, which is hung toa bracket 19 on the brake-beam B, the upper end of this dead-lever beingguided in a slotted arm or bracket 9, which, in the case of the truckshown in Fig. 1, is secured to and projects from the bolster F, and inthe case of the truck shown in Fig. 2 is carried by one of such wear orslackening; and in my former 2o tomatic or capable of being readilyeffected patent before alluded to I described an autowithout anymaterial change in the present matic compensating hearing or fulcrum forconstruction of the braking mechanism, the upper end of the dead-lever,said bearing whether hand or power actuated. being in the form of aWedge having a con- Intheaccompanyingdrawings myimproved stant tendencyto follow and hold any ad- 25 compensating element of the brake-gear isvancein the position of the fulcrum end of illustrated in connectionwith the dead-lethe dead-lever, such as would be caused by the ver ofthe braking mechanism, asin my patshaking movement of the car andpermitted out, No. 433,294, dated July 29, 1890. by wear or looseness ofparts of the brake-op- Figure l is a diagram illustrating the aperatinggear. In that form of my present in- 30 plication of the invention tothe ordinary vention shown in Figs. 1 to 3, however, I use freight-carbrake-gear; Fig. 2, a view illusin place of the wedge-like fulcrum-blocka trating the application of the invention to an rack t', hung to theupper end of the dead-leordinary form of passenger-car brake-gear; verand having teeth engaging with a pawl- Fig. 3, an enlarged sectionalview of part of tooth m, formed on or secured to the guiding- 5 thedevice; Figs. 4, 5, and 6, similar views bracket 9 for the upper end ofsaid dead-leillustrating modifications of the compensatver, the teeth ofthe rack being retained in ing device. engagement with said pawl-tooth mby reason In both forms of brake-gear shown in the of the weight oftherack, or, if desired, by drawings A A represent the two Wheels atmeans of a spring 11, such as shown in con- 40 one side of the truck,and B Bthe two brakenection with the pawl in Fig. 4. It will thus beamssuspended from the truck, as usual, be seen that any movement of theupper end and carrying the brake-shoes a a, respectof the dead-lever Din the direction of the ively, the shoe a, acting on the wheel A andarrow, Fig. 1, to the extent of one or more of the shoe a acting on thewheel A. the teeth of the rackt' will cause said rack to 45 Hung to abracket b on the brake-beam B move over the pawl-tooth m, which willpre- 5 is what is known as the livelever D of the brake-gear, the longarm of this lever being connected by a rod (1 to the brake-operatingdevice, either hand or power, and the short vent its return. Hence thefulcrum-point of the lever will be correspondingly advanced. Thepawl-tootl1 m and the teeth of the rack i are, however, undercut, asshown in Fig. 3.

5o arm of the lever being connected by a rod f Therefore, afteratooth ofthe rack has passed :00

the-point of the pawl tooth m it will, on falling into engagement withsaid tooth, permit a slight retraction of the rack, and therefore of theupper or fulcrum end of the dead-lever D, consequently permitting thebrake-shoes to fall clear of the wheels to such an extent as to preventthe rigid locking of the brakeshoes in contact with said wheels, whichwould be caused if the slack of the lever D was taken up and held whilethe shoes were pawl having an undercut head, or the point of a pawl maybe so reduced in thickness that .it will follow up the undercut side ofa tooth and seek the root of the same.

pawl being hung to lugs on the guide g and engaging with teeth formed onthe u per face of a rack carried by the upper endof the deadle'ver andresting on a suitable support in the guide 9, and it will be evidentthat the pawl may be hung to any other fixed part of the frame. The rackand pawl also provide a convenient means of hand-adjustment forcompensating for wear or slackening of any.

part of the brake-gear, the pawl or rackbeing readily accessible fromthe side of the car and being provided with a suitable handheld, asshown by dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 5, for instance, to facilitatemanipulation.

Although I have illustrated my improved undercut rack-and-pawlcompensating device as applied to the dead-leverof the brak ingmechanism, it should be understood that An instance of this constructionis shown in Fig. 6, the

this is merely for example, and that my invention is not limited to theuse of said compensating device in this connectlon. As an tion withvarious forms of car-brake mech- I anism.

Having thus described my invention, I

claim and desire to secure by Letters Pat ent- H 1. The combination ofthe dead-lever of railway-'car-brake mechanism with an engaging rack andpawl for retaining the fulcrum end of said lever in its successivepositions of 'advancement, one or both of said engaging portions havingundercut teeth, substantially as specified.

2. The withilndescribed device for compensating for wear or looseness ofparts of carbrake mechanism, said compensating'device comprisingelements with undercut engaging portions, whereby after each successivead- Vance or movement of compensation there will be a slight backing 01?to prevent the locking of the brake shoes against the wheels,substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this Specifi'catio'ninthepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JACOB E. LOUGHRIDGE.

Witnesses'z' M EUGENE ELTERICH, HARRY SMITH.

